Revised Fiber Sourcing Requirements

SFI 2010-2014 Standard: Fiber Sourcing Requirements

The SFI 2010-2014 Standard includes three sets of objectives – Objectives 1-7 apply to forest management, Objectives 8-13 apply to fiber sourcing, and Objectives 14-20 apply to both forest management and fiber sourcing.

Objectives 8 through 13 set out requirements for fiber sourcing within the United States and Canada such as landowner outreach, use of qualified resource/logging professionals, and adherence to best management practices. They also include requirements for facilities sourcing fiber outside of North America, such as promoting conservation of biological diversity and avoiding controversial sources, including illegal logging and areas without effective laws.

Objectives 14 through 20, which apply to forest management and fiber sourcing, include requirements related to compliance with applicable laws, support for research, training and education, community involvement, public land management responsibilities, communications and public reporting, and continual improvement.

SFI 2010-2014 Standard Objectives 8-13 for Fiber Sourcing

Fiber sourcing within the United States and Canada (Objectives 8-10 apply).

Performance Measure 8.1. Program Participants shall provide information to landowners for reforestation following harvest, for the use of best management practices, and for identification and protection of important habitat elements for wildlife and biodiversity, including Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value.

Objective 9. Use of Qualified Resource and Qualified Logging Professionals. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry by encouraging forest landowners to utilize the services of forest management and harvesting professionals.

Program to promote the use of certified logging professionals (where available), qualified resource professionals and qualified logging professionals.

List of certified logging professionals and qualified logging professionals maintained by Program Participant, state or provincial agency, loggers’ association or other organization.

Objective 10. Adherence to Best Management Practices. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry through the use of best management practices to protect water quality.

Performance Measure 10.1. Program Participants shall clearly define and implement policies to ensure that facility inventories and fiber sourcing activities do not compromise adherence to the principles of sustainable forestry.

Indicators:

Program for the purchase of raw material from certified logging professionals (where available) and from wood producers that have completed training programs and are recognized as qualified logging professionals.

Program to require that harvests of purchased stumpage comply with best management practices.

Contracts for the purchase of raw material include provisions requiring the use of best management practices.

Program to address adverse weather conditions.

Program Participants shall clearly define their fiber sourcing policies in writing and make them available to wood producers.

Performance Measure 10.2. Program Participants shall monitor the use of best management practices.

Indicators:

A verifiable monitoring system to:

monitor the use of best management practices by wood producers supplying the Program Participant; and

evaluate use of best management practices across the wood and fiber supply area.

Use of information from the verifiable monitoring system to maintain rates of conformance to best management practices and to identify areas for improved performance.

Fiber sourcing by facilities enrolled in the SFI program from sources outside the United States and Canada (Objectives 11-13 apply).

Performance Measure 11.1. Program Participants shall ensure that their fiber sourcing programs support the principles of sustainable forestry, including efforts to promote conservation of biological diversity.

Indicators:

Fiber sourcing from areas outside the United States and Canada promotes conservation of:

biological diversity utilizing information from organizations such as the Alliance for Zero Extinction, World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute and International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Program with direct suppliers to promote the principles of sustainable forestry.

Documented information that includes knowledge about direct suppliers’ application of the principles of sustainable forestry.

Objective 12. Avoidance of Controversial Sources including Illegal Logging. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry by avoidance of illegal logging.

Performance Measure 12.1. Program Participants shall ensure that their fiber sourcing programs support the principles of sustainable forestry, including efforts to thwart illegal logging.

Indicators:

Process to assess the risk that the Program Participant’s fiber sourcing program could acquire material from illegal logging.

Program to address any significant risk identified under 12.1.1.

Program with direct suppliers to promote the principles of sustainable forestry.

Documented information that includes knowledge about direct suppliers’ application of the principles of sustainable forestry.

Objective 13. Avoidance of Controversial Sources including Fiber Sourced from Areas without Effective Social Laws. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry by avoiding controversial sources.

Objective 14. Legal and Regulatory Compliance. Compliance with applicable federal, provincial, state and local laws and regulations.

Performance Measure 14.1. Program Participants shall take appropriate steps to comply with applicable federal, provincial, state and local forestry and related social and environmental laws and regulations.

Indicators:

Access to relevant laws and regulations in appropriate locations.

System to achieve compliance with applicable federal, provincial, state or local laws and regulations.

Demonstration of commitment to legal compliance through available regulatory action information.

Performance Measure 14.2. Program Participants shall take appropriate steps to comply with all applicable social laws at the federal, provincial, state and local levels in the country in which the Program Participant operates.

Indicator:

Written policy demonstrating commitment to comply with social laws, such as those covering civil rights, equal employment opportunities, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment measures, workers’ compensation, indigenous peoples’ rights, workers’ and communities’ right to know, prevailing wages, workers’ right to organize, and occupational health and safety.

Forestry enterprises will respect the rights of workers and labor representatives in a manner that encompasses the intent of the International Labor Organization (ILO) core conventions.

Objective 15. Forestry Research, Science, and Technology. To support forestry research, science, and technology, upon which sustainable forest management decisions are based.

Performance Measure 15.1. Program Participants shall individually and/or through cooperative efforts involving SFI Implementation Committees, associations or other partners provide in-kind support or funding for forest research to improve forest health, productivity, and sustainable management of forest resources, and the environmental benefits and performance of forest products.

Indicators:

Financial or in-kind support of research to address questions of relevance in the region of operations. The research shall include some of the following issues:

forest health, productivity, and ecosystem functions;

chemical efficiency, use rate and integrated pest management;

water quality and/or effectiveness of best management practices including effectiveness of water quality and best management practices for protecting the quality, diversity and distributions of fish and wildlife habitats;

wildlife management at stand and landscape levels;

conservation of biological diversity;

ecological impacts of bioenergy feedstock removals on productivity, wildlife habitat, water quality and other ecosystem functions;

climate change research for both adaptation and mitigation;

social issues;

forest operations efficiencies and economics;

energy efficiency;

life cycle assessment;

avoidance of illegal logging; and

avoidance of controversial sources.

Research on genetically engineered trees via forest tree biotechnology shall adhere to all applicable federal, state, and provincial regulations and international protocols.

Performance Measure 15.2. Program Participants shall individually and/or through cooperative efforts involving SFI Implementation Committees, associations or other partners develop or use state, provincial or regional analyses in support of their sustainable forestry programs.

Indicator:

Participation, individually and/or through cooperative efforts involving SFI Implementation Committees and/or associations at the national, state, provincial or regional level, in the development or use of some of the following:

Program Participants are knowledgeable about climate change impacts on wildlife, wildlife habitats and conservation of biological diversity through international, national, regional or local programs.

Objective 16. Training and Education. To improve the implementation of sustainable forestry practices through appropriate training and education programs.

Performance Measure 16.1. Program Participants shall require appropriate training of personnel and contractors so that they are competent to fulfill their responsibilities under the SFI 2010-2014 Standard.

Indicators:

Written statement of commitment to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard communicated throughout the organization, particularly to facility and woodland managers, fiber sourcing staff and field foresters.

Assignment and understanding of roles and responsibilities for achieving SFI 2010-2014 Standard objectives.

Staff education and training sufficient to their roles and responsibilities.

Contractor education and training sufficient to their roles and responsibilities.

Forestry enterprises shall have a program for the use of certified logging professionals (where available) and qualified logging professionals.

Performance Measure 16.2. Program Participants shall work individually and/or with SFI Implementation Committees, logging or forestry associations, or appropriate agencies or others in the forestry community to foster improvement in the professionalism of wood producers.

Indicators:

Participation in or support of SFI Implementation Committees to establish criteria and identify delivery mechanisms for wood producers’ training courses that address:

awareness of sustainable forestry principles and the SFI program;

best management practices, including streamside management and road construction, maintenance and retirement;

awareness of responsibilities under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the Canadian Species at Risk Act, and other measures to protect wildlife habitat (e.g. Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value);

logging safety;

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (COHS) regulations, wage and hour rules, and other provincial, state and local employment laws;

transportation issues;

business management;

public policy and outreach; and

awareness of emerging technologies.

Participation in or support of SFI Implementation Committees to establish criteria for recognition of logger certification programs, where they exist, that include:

independent in-the-forest verification of conformance with the logger certification program standards;

compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including responsibilities under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the Canadian Species at Risk Act and other measures to protect wildlife habitat;

use of best management practices to protect water quality;

logging safety;

compliance with acceptable silviculture and utilization standards;

aesthetic management techniques employed where applicable; and

adherence to a management or harvest plan that is site specific and agreed to by the forest landowner.

Objective 17. Community Involvement in the Practice of Sustainable Forestry. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry by encouraging the public and forestry community to participate in the commitment to sustainable forestry, and publicly report progress.

Support, including financial, for efforts of SFI Implementation Committees.

Support for the development of educational materials for use with forest landowners (e.g. information packets, websites, newsletters, workshops, tours, etc.).

Support for the development of regional, state or provincial information materials that provide forest landowners with practical approaches for addressing special sites and biological diversity issues, such as invasive exotic plants and animals, specific wildlife habitat, Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value, and threatened and endangered species.

Participation in efforts to support or promote conservation of managed forests through voluntary market-based incentive programs such as current-use taxation programs, Forest Legacy Program1or conservation easements.

Program Participants are knowledgeable about credible regional conservation planning and priority-setting efforts that include a broad range of stakeholders and have a program to take into account the results of these efforts in planning.

Performance Measure 17.2. Program Participants shall support and promote, at the state, provincial or other appropriate levels, mechanisms for public outreach, education and involvement related to sustainable forest management.

support for state, provincial, and local forestry organizations and soil and water conservation districts.

Performance Measure 17.3. Program Participants shall establish, at the state, provincial, or other appropriate levels, procedures to address concerns raised by loggers, consulting foresters, employees, unions, the public or other Program Participants regarding practices that appear inconsistent with the SFI Standard principles and objectives.

Indicators:

Support for SFI Implementation Committees (e.g. toll-free numbers and other efforts) to address concerns about apparent nonconforming practices.

Process to receive and respond to public inquiries. SFI Implementation Committees shall submit data annually to SFI Inc. regarding concerns received and responses.

Objective 18: Public Land Management Responsibilities. To promote and implement sustainable forest management on public lands.

Performance Measure 18.1. Program Participants with forest management responsibilitieson public lands shall participate in the development of public land planning and management processes.

Indicators:

Involvement in public land planning and management activities with appropriate governmental entities and the public.

Appropriate contact with local stakeholders over forest management issues through state, provincial, federal or independent collaboration.

Program that includes communicating with affected indigenous peoples to enable Program Participants to:

understand and respect traditional forest-related knowledge;

identify and protect spiritually, historically, or culturally important sites; and

address the use of non-timber forest products of value to indigenous peoples in areas where Program Participants have management responsibilities on public lands.

Objective 19. Communications and Public Reporting. To broaden the practice of sustainable forestry by documenting progress and opportunities for improvement.

Performance Measure 19.1. A Certified Program Participant shall provide a summary audit report, prepared by the certification body, to SFI Inc. after the successful completion of a certification, recertification or surveillance audit to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard.

Indicator:

The summary audit report submitted by the Program Participant (one copy must be in English), shall include, at a minimum:

a description of the audit process, objectives and scope;

a description of substitute indicators, if any, used in the audit and a rationale for each;

the name of Program Participant that was audited, including its SFI representative;

a general description of the Program Participant’s forestland and manufacturing operations included in the audit;

the name of the certification body and lead auditor (names of the audit team members, including technical experts may be included at the discretion of the audit team and Program Participant);

the dates the certification was conducted and completed;

a summary of the findings, including general descriptions of evidence of conformity and any nonconformities and corrective action plans to address them, opportunities for improvement, and exceptional practices; and

the certification decision.

The summary audit report will be posted on the SFI Inc. website (www.sfiprogram.org) for public review.

Performance Measure 19.2. Program Participants shall report annually to SFI Inc. on their conformance with the SFI 2010-2014 Standard.

Indicators:

Prompt response to the SFI annual progress report.

Recordkeeping for all the categories of information needed for SFI annual progress reports.

Maintenance of copies of past reports to document progress and improvements to demonstrate conformance to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard.

Objective 20. Management Review and Continual Improvement. To promote continual improvement in the practice of sustainable forestry, and to monitor, measure and report performance in achieving the commitment to sustainable forestry.

Performance Measure 20.1. Program Participants shall establish a management review system to examine findings and progress in implementing the SFI Standard, to make appropriate improvements in programs, and to inform their employees of changes.

Indicators:

System to review commitments, programs and procedures to evaluate effectiveness.

System for collecting, reviewing, and reporting information to management regarding progress in achieving SFI 2010-2014 Standard objectives and performance measures.

Annual review of progress by management and determination of changes and improvements necessary to continually improve conformance to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard.